Decorated music industry veteran, Chubbie Baby, is responsible for many of the commercial hits in the urban market today. His work with Future, Saint JHN, Rick Ross, Lil Baby and 21 Savage have cemented his legacy as one of the top urban A & Rs in the world.
However, his road to success was not always paved in gold. Chubbie grew up in a harsh environment in South Bronx, New York, he looked up to New York rap artists such as Wu-Tang Clan, EPMD and Redman to help him deal with the pain of poverty and losing two young siblings.
After hearing The Notorious B.I.G. ‘s classic debut album, “Ready to Die”, as a teenager, Chubbie developed a single-minded focus. Like many teenagers growing up in urban American neighborhoods looking for a way to escape, Chubbie locked his pain around one dream – to become a rap star. This dream has constantly propelled him to the top of the music industry.
“When I heard B.I.G. it blew my mind,” Chubbie states, describing his love for The Hip Hop artist. “I was fascinated by how he used to rap. He was heavy-set and he was fly. That’s how I wanted to be.” Life dealt Chubbie an alternative deck of cards and he found himself mangled in the preschool-to-prison pipeline.
After being paroled in 1999, Chubbie began to focus on building a buzz around his budding musical talents as he knew music was his escape from a life of crime. Along the way, he carefully nurtured his relationships with long-time New York friends Cam’ron and Jim Jones. “Artist development is my love for music. Cam has always been a good artist. Cam was talented before I met him, he actually developed me into being an A&R versus being a street nigga. We both were developing each other at the same time.”
As The Diplomats became one of the hottest names in rap, Chubbie simultaneously made a name for himself. “I made the inside of the music industry, I’ve been in the industry since I was 14,” explains Chubbie Baby.
In Chubbie’s early twenties, he became the owner of a popular Ohio nightclub, Redzone. Still pursuing his dream of music industry stardom, through his night club, Chubbie was able to build and foster relationships with Lil’ Wayne, Young Jeezy, T.I., and more. He also launched a radio show called Diplomat Saturdays. At the time, it was a popular radio show and was always packed with celebrity guest appearances. The radio show became a Midwest staple.
Chubbie Baby relocated to Atlanta in 2007 where he teamed up with Polow Da Don and Alex Gidewon of AG Entertainment to corner the Atlanta market and focus on music and entertainment promotions.
From 2008-2011, Chubbie Baby was an A&R for Zone 4, Inc. alongside Polow Da Don. After meeting Polow Da Don, Chubbie went into overdrive in the A&R lane putting people and massive Atlanta records together such as Dj Unk’s “Walk It Out” (2006) and Rich Boy’s “Throw Some D’s On It” (2007).
After linking Keri Hilson and Lil Wayne together on the record “Turnin Me On” (2009), Chubbie Baby became the official A&R for Zone 4, Inc. He also started his own record label, AweSomLife Entertainment and began discovering and promoting new talent.
“It is all about making hit records,” Chubbie explains. “I just want to throw Atlanta on my back, combine it all and take it to the top.”
As Chubbie’s momentum grew he secured Usher and Young Jeezy for the record “Love In This Club” (2008). “Love In This Club” reached number one on the Hot 100 and spent three weeks at the top of the charts. The remix of the song featured Beyonce’ and Lil Wayne. “Love In This Club” topped international charts and was certified Gold and later Platinum.
Around this time Chubbie was unstoppable as he was literally creating the culture we all enjoy today. This was when he caught the attention of Jimmy Iovine and P. Diddy who met with him in New York and offered a million dollar deal for Chubbie to leave Zone 4. Chubbie declined the deal and returned to Atlanta.
Once back in Atlanta, Chubbie negotiated the record deal for Atlanta artist Roscoe Dash with MMI (2009). However, Chubbie really took a liking to an up and coming artist, Future. The two became acquainted and Chubbie eventually began managing Future.
But Chubbie didn’t stop there. He then secured Lil Wayne on Ester Dean’s hit record “Drop It Low” (2009). Next, Chubbie put Julez Santana together with Chris Brown on the record “Back to The Crib” (2009). Chubbie also recruited Gucci Mane for the record “Spotlight” (2009).
In 2010, Chubbie and Polow were in high gear and that was when Chubbie linked Gucci Mane and Ester Dean, the result was the classic record, “I Think I Love Her” (2010).
By 2015, Chubbie became the Vice President of A&R for the urban department of Epic Records. At Epic Records, Chubbie was responsible for the careers of Future, 21 Savage, Swift, Kodie Shane, Golde and many more.
Epic Records is where Chubbie’s talent for finding new talent soared and he succeeded in selling 47 million records and securing 4 Grammy Awards for EPIC artists within two and a half years. “My dream is to take artists, build them up and make their dreams come true,” explains Chubbie.
To date, he has worked with musical talents such as Young Jeezy, Roscoe Dash, Keri Hilson, Lloyd, Gucci Mane, Rocko, Future, 2 Chainz, Lil Wayne, Juelz Santana, Jim Jones, Cam’ron, and producers including Sonny Digital, Metro Boomin, Mike Will, and The Heatmakerz.
In 2018, Chubbie left EPIC Records to become the Senior VP of A & R of HITCO Music, alongside LA Reid and Charles Goldstruck. HITCO Music’s roster includes 18 of the hottest urban artists today including; Big Boi, Saint JHN, Jamie Ray, Dinah Jane, Yella Beezy, Bonfyre, Dixie D’Amelio, Rubi Rose, Coca Vango and Light Skin Keisha.
Most recently Chubbie launched his podcast A&R Live and was working with artists signed to his AweSomLife Entertainment label including Casper Bluff, Priscilla Rose and GK Leonitis.
His indelible mark on the urban landscape can never be forgotten as he became the top A&R of urban America.
Written by Kandis Knight (Chubbie Baby’s longtime executive assistant)
